Sven's men dreaming of Asian glory

HONG KONG: Sven-Goran Eriksson's Shanghai SIPG set their sights on AFC Champions League glory after they roared into the knockout stages — as holders Guangzhou Evergrande went out with a whimper.
The well-travelled former England coach could be on the road to Asian success with the Shanghai team, who beat Melbourne Victory 3-1 on Tuesday to top Group G.
Among SIPG's leading performers are hotshot Brazilian striker Elkeson, mystifyingly off-loaded by Evergrande in January, and playmaker Dario Conca who also once starred for the Chinese champions.
"Last year Shanghai were dreaming about winning the AFC Champions League title and up till now we've been doing pretty good. Everyone at the club and all the fans are all very happy," said Sweden's Eriksson.
"But we can't talk about our future in ACL yet, I'm just so happy that we can win our match over Melbourne, very satisfied with the way we played and delighted that we have topped the group."
SIPG's comfortable qualification means Eriksson scores a point against old sparring partner Luiz Felipe Scolari, who led Chinese champions Evergrande to their earliest exit from the Asian competition.
Scolari's Brazil dumped Eriksson's England out of the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals, and he went on to do the same again with Portugal at both Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.
Eriksson also had to watch as Scolari-led Evergrande pipped SIPG to the Chinese Super League title — their fifth in a row — on the final day of last season.
China's Shandong Luneng, led by another ex-Brazil coach in the form of Mano Menezes, are also into Asia's last 16, while big-spenders Jiangsu Suning face a nervous final round of group games next month.
Jiangsu, who twice broke the Asian transfer record in hiring Chelsea's Ramires and Alex Teixeira in January and February, will fight it out with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and FC Tokyo for the top two spots in Group E.
Meanwhile Evergrande, who have led the way in cashed-up China's football revolution, will be braced for recriminations after their Asian flop.
The two-time Asian title-winners had already replaced their president this month, according to China's Xinhua news agency which speculated that their lacklustre Champions League campaign was behind the boardroom change. — AFP